MIGRANT CLINICIANS NETWORK

“A FORCE FOR JUSTICE IN HEAL THCARE FOR THE MOBILE POOR” PO BOX 164285 + AUSTIN, TEXAS 78716 + (512) 327-2017 + (512) 327-0719 FAX + (800) 825-8205 TOLL FREE December 15, 2009

Debra Edwards, PhD

Director Office of Pesticide Programs U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

1200 Constitution Avenue N.W. Washington, DC 20460

Re: Requiring that Pesticide Labels be Available in Spanish

Dear Dr. Edwards:

Currently pesticide labels are onl y required to be in English. Th is policy has a disproportionate impact on foreign-born pesticid e applicators who primarily speak Spanish, with little or no ability to speak or read English. As a consequence, they cannot r ead the pesticide labels and do not understand the pesticide use di rections, the personal protectiv e equipment (PPE) required or

the instructions to avoid contamination of wa ter bodies. The current provision, which directs Spanish-speaking handlers to get th e label translated themselves, is grossly inadequate. Without the benefit of foreign language labels and comp rehensive training in a la nguage and manner they understand, these pesticide applicators are ill-eq uipped to protect themselves, others, or the

environment.

For farmworkers, this is an environmental ju stice concern and it unders cores an obvious gap in worker protection to which the EPA should respo nd immediately. At recent Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee meetings, several representatives have mentioned this environmental justice concern, but have not been offered an Agency-in itiated response or solution. We are writing to formally request an Agency solution that require s pesticide manufacturers selling products in the United States to offer Spanish-language labels.

There are an estimated 2.5 million hired farmwork ers in the United States, hundreds of thousands of whom mix, load, or apply pest icides. According to the National Agricultural Worker Survey (NAWS), 81% of farmworkers reported Spanish as their native language and 53% of the farmworkers said they can not speak, read, or wr ite English. In a study of 195 pesticide handlers who were participating in the Washington Stat e cholinesterase monitoring program from 2006- 2008, only 29% reported being able to read in English but nearly all of the pa rticipants were able to read in Spanish to at least some degree, though most (56%) reported having a primary school education or less (Hofmann et al. 2009).

Manufacturers of pesticides routinely translat e their labels into Spanish and many other languages in order to sell them worldwide. Restrict ed use pesticides (RUPs) sold in Puerto Rico come with Spanish-language labe ls. As such it would not be di fficult for pesticide manufacturersto label all agricultural use products with an EP A-approved label that has been translated into Spanish (or a number of other languages).

The EPA has previously resisted requests that it require foreign-langua ge labels on the grounds that it would cost the agency too much time and effort to review and approve each translation. Ensuring that labels carry appropriate transl ations could be accomplished, however, without requiring an EPA review of each translation. Once the English-language label has been approved, the agency could requir e that any company which uses a label in a different language

must first attest that its transl ation is true and accurate comp ared to the EPA-approved English language version. The agency would then only have to review a sample of the translated labels. This system should be acceptable in this in stance, because the manufacturers would have no incentive to use anything other than an accurate tr anslation of the approved label. Of course, any translation found to be misleading or inaccurate w ould be viewed as misbranding and result in a

violation of the Federal Insecticid e, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act.

In sum, there is a great need for Spanish-langua ge labels, many pesticide manufacturers already produce such labels for the world market, and the agency could approve these labels with relatively little effort. As such, we request th at the EPA permit pesticid e manufacturers to begin selling products in the United Stat es with Spanish-language labels as soon as possible. We would be glad to meet with you at your earliest conveni ence to discuss this furt her. Please contact Amy Liebman at 410-860-9850/ aliebman@migrantclini can.org or Virginia Ru iz at (202) 293-5420/ vruiz@farmworkerjustice.org.

Sincerely,

Amy K. Liebman, MPA

Director of Environmental and Occupational Health Migrant Clinicians Network

Virginia Ruiz Senior Attorney

Farmworker Justice

Dona Hippert

President Oregon Toxics Alliance

Margaret Reeves, PhD

Senior Scientist

Pesticide Action Network North America

Anne Katten, MPH Pesticide and Work Safety Project Director California Rural Legal Assistance FoundationCarol Dansereau Farm Worker Pesticide Project

Jeannie Economos Pesticide Safety and Environmental Health Project Coordinator

Farmworker Association of Florida

cc: Lisa Jackson, Administrator, US Environmental Protection Agency Stephen Owens, Assistant Administrator, Office of Prevention, Pesticides & Toxic Substances, US Environmental Protection Agency

Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Assistant Secretary fo r Policy, Office of Programmatic Policy. (March 2005). Findings from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) 2001 - 2002. A Demographic and Employment Profile of United States Farm Workers. Research Report No. 9. accessed on 11/14/2009 at http://www.doleta.gov/ag worker/report9/toc.cfm

Hofmann J, Checkoway H, Borges O, Servin F, Fenske R, Keifer M. (2009). Development of a computer-based survey instrument for organophosphate and N-methyl-carbamate exposure assessment among agricultural pesticide handlers. Paper submitted.